A Broken Girl
by GleefullGleek77
Summary: Rachel's father is sick and in the hospital. The other drinks the sorrows away, leaving the young diva alone. When she reaches her breaking point. her glee club is there for her. This is Puckleberry with Pezberry friendship. Future Faberry friendship
1. Chapter 1

A Broken Girl

_No. This couldn't be happening to me. My whole life uprooted, _Rachel thought in her chair by her dad's bed. Her life was shit right now. That's right. Rachel cursed. It all started five months ago, just after Christmas break. She found out that her dad had cancer of the throat. Her daddy. She didn't want to, but she started crying again. He was in the hospital, and he had been told that soon he would not be able to talk. HER daddy. The one who sang her to sleep when she was little. The one who would always talk to her about her day and give her advice.

Leroy Berry was strong. Rachel knew this. The doctors said that it was because of this he wasn't as bad as he technically should be. She spent **all **of her free time at the hospital, she had stopped her morning routines of exercising. She slept here. She went to school. She went home, showered, and came back with whatever she needed.

Dad, Hiram Berry, wasn't taking this well. She didn't understand. He always protected them. Now he would disappear for days at a time. Daddy was too fuzzy because of the drugs to notice. But she did. When she did see her dad, he smelled like alcohol and had bloodshot eyes.

She hadn't told anybody in glee. When his dad was sick, she had wanted to do nothing but help Kurt. Now she understood why he wasn't happy with everybody's help. It was the fact that he needed the help in the first place. She didn't want sympathy or help.

So she put on a show-face for the entire club, and she was an excellent actress. To them she was the same annoying, determined girl who wore animal sweaters. On the inside she wasn't. She just wanted to scream until her voice was gone. She wanted to know why this couldn't have happened to her. Not her daddy.

She sighed and sat up, sore from sleeping in the chair. She turned and saw her dad was awake.

"Hi daddy. Good morning," she asked smiling. She always tried to be strong for him.

He looked at her funny. He moved his mouth as if he was trying to speak. He was getting frustrated. Rachel felt tears coming to her eyes. She pressed the button for a nurse.

As the nurse walked in Rachel said, trying to control her voice,

"He can't talk. Why can't he talk? What happened?"

They nurse walked over and enveloped the small girl in a hug.

"Honey, I am sorry. We knew this would eventually happen."

They nurse walked out. Rachel turned to her father, who was writing in a notebook. It said :_**Rachel, I will be fine. Go to school. Sing for me in Glee Club, please.**_

He gave her a pleading smile. She smiled, not able to deny him anything.

She nodded, kissed his cheek and walked out to her car, not caring she was going to school in jeans, a sweatshirt and Converse. She tied he hair in a low messy ponytail. She would sing for him.

Glee was interesting now that they had lost Nationals. Finn was wanting me back. I needed to discourage him. I needed to focus on Daddy, and I couldn't let Finn in.

After school, I walked into Glee. Nobody said anything to me. Usually I was first in the room, not last. I got confused looks. I sat down, balling my fists. I needed to vent. Now. I raised my hand, interrupting Mr. Shuester.

"Yes Rachel?" he asked confused.

"Can I sing Mr. Shue?" I asked

"Um," he hesitated. I guess something in my face made him think twice about saying no. He sat down by Puck and waved me towards the front. I whispered the song in the guitar players ear and he told the band. I walked to the front. And started to sing…

I can't believe what you said to me  
>Last night when we were alone<br>You threw your hands up  
>Baby you gave up, you gave up<p>

I can't believe how you looked at me  
>With your James Dean glossy eyes<br>In your tight jeans with your long hair  
>And your cigarette stained lies<p>

Could we fix you if you broke?  
>And is your punch line just a joke?<p>

I'll never talk again  
>Oh boy you've left me speechless<br>You've left me speechless, so speechless

And I'll never love again,  
>Oh boy you've left me speechless<br>You've left me speechless, so speechless

I can't believe how you slurred at me  
>With your half wired broken jaw<br>You popped my heart seams  
>On my bubble dreams, bubble dreams<p>

I can't believe how you looked at me  
>With your Johnnie Walker eyes<br>He's gonna get you and after he's through  
>There's gonna be no love left to rye<p>

And I know that it's complicated  
>But I'm a loser in love<br>So baby raise a glass to mend  
>All the broken hearts<br>Of all my wrecked up friends

I'll never talk again  
>Oh boy you've left me speechless<br>You've left me speechless so speechless

I'll never love again,  
>Oh friend you've left me speechless<br>You've left me speechless, so speechless

How?  
>Haaaa-oooo-wow?<br>H-ooow?  
>Wow<p>

Haaaa-oooo-wow?  
>H-ooow?<br>Wow

And after all the drinks and bars that we've been to  
>Would you give it all up?<br>Could I give it all up for you?

And after all the boys and girls that we've been through  
>Would you give it all up?<br>Could you give it all up?

If I promise boy to you  
>That I'll never talk again<br>And I'll never love again  
>I'll never write a song<br>Won't even sing along

I'll never love again  
>So speechless<br>You left me speechless, so speechless  
>Why you so speechless, so speechless?<p>

Will you ever talk again?  
>Oh boy, why you so speechless?<br>You've left me speechless so speechless

Some men may follow me  
>But you choose "death and company"<br>Why you so speechless? Oh oh oh

She finished. Tears were pouring down her cheeks. She had completely let herself go in that song. The Glee-clubbers were amazed. She wasn't singing to any of them. Her eyes were closed half of the song. They all had different thoughts running through their heads.

Will: Oh my God. What happened? **When **did this happen? What should I do? Maybe she should see Emma.

Will suddenly ran out of the room.

Finn: Was that about me? I can talk and she wasn't looking at me at all so… she wasn't looking at anybody.

Quinn: Oh my goodness. This girl will stop at nothing for attention.

Mercedes: Something's up. What the hell. She has been fine. If anybody's hurt her… Aww, Hell to the No… Nobody hates on Rachel, without me having something to say

Kurt: What is this? She looks like a puppy that's been kicked.

Santana: What's wrong with Manha… err, Rachel. Usually I would think its for attention but it doesn't look like it. She was going to go all Lima Heights on whoever did this to a member of her team.

Britney: What's wrong with Rachel? She's crying. I wanna give her a hug.

Britney stood up and wrapped Rachel in her arms

When did Rachel get so thin? I can feel her ribs through this big sweatshirt.

Artie: Um… this is awkward.

Tina: What's up with Rachel. I've never seen her this upset before?

Lauren: Damn! Berry looks bad.

Mike: Hmmm, I haven't really gotten to know Rachel but she looks bad… not really sure what to do

Sam: oh God. What happened? Rachel's one of the nicest girls I've met. She's been helping with Stacey. No way I'm going to let her hurt like this…

Rachel found herself enveloped by Britney in a hug. Then slowly the whole club and a reluctant Quinn hugged her in a big club. They let her cry. Britney wouldn't let go after they all backed off. She decided she was going to protect Rachel.

Rachel looked around. She had a family here. She took a deep breath, and clung to Britney for support.

Mr. Shue came in with Emma and stopped when he saw Rachel surrounded by his kids, comforting her.

She clung to Britney and started talking.

"Last January… my dad, Leroy… he, um, got throat cancer," She said having trouble breathing. "He's been in the hospital for about a month." She was silent, not able to stop the tears, " Um… this morning he couldn't talk, and I don't think he ever will again." She buried her head into Britney's shoulders, knowing she couldn't talk anymore.

Everybody in that room was frozen. They knew something was bad but they had not expected that.

"Guys, we are cutting practice off for now. I want somebody to take Rachel home. Everybody needs to be there for Rachel right now. Sing to her, talk to her, simply be there for her. She needs you, more than anybody else right now," Miss Pillsberry said.

They all nodded. Santana felt terrible. This was the girl whose life she had made hell. She had to start making up for that. Immediately. She grabbed Britney and Rachel and made there way to Rachel's car. As Britney drove, Santana held Rachel in the backseat. She told Britney to go to Rachel's house. She sent a mass text to the glee club

**Santana**: Yalls better get your asses 2 Rach's. Bring snacks. Its a musical watchin afternoon. We **r** going to b there 4 her…

She immediately got the other ten texts of agreement.

When they got to Rachel's house, Santana got Rachel to put on pajamas. Rachel really wasn't moving much so Santana helped her. She saw Rachel's wrist. Scars. Not of razors but fingernails. Oh God. How did the club not realize the state that Rachel was in. She stood right in front of Rachel's staring eyes

"Berry, this is wrong. You are never doing this again, okay? It is wrong and bad for you. You're dad being sick is terrible. You don't need to be in pain as well. None of this is your fault."

She finished dressing Rachel and took the girl by the hand and lead her to the TV room, turning on the AC. It was basically summer. Rachel should already have it on… Unless… she has basically been living at the hospital. Santana lead her in the room. Rachel was shivering even though it was HOT. She sat Rachel down on the coach and wrapped he like a burrito in a blanket. She called for Brittney who came in with hot chocolate for Rachel. I loved Brittney. She always knew what to do.

The rest of the club arrived. We all huddled around Rachel. I put in Funny Girl. She had gone on and on about it in Glee so I figured that it would cheer her up a little.

About halfway, I turned to check on Rachel, who was currently in Puck's arms, asleep. He was watching her, an extremely worried look on his face. Santana remembered that Puck had basically grown up with Rachel. He probably felt like she did about all the bullying.

Puck held Rachel in his arms and was glad she was asleep. There were circles under her eyes that he guessed she usually covered up. God, he was an idiot. Before Junior High they had been inseparable, always hanging out. She had been his best friend. Then, like the asshole he now knew he was, he had stopped hanging with the small girl because it wasn't cool. He wasn't ever going to hurt her again.

After the movie, Rachel woke up, roused my My Man. She looked up and was glad she was in Puck's arms, she missed him. She… She had to go see Daddy! She sat up and looked around. All of the glee club was around looking at her.

"I want you guys to know what you have done is amazing. I have to go see my Daddy though." They all nodded, and got up.

"Um, Puck, will you come with me? You to Santana?" She looked at Puck and Santana. They nodded. They got in Puck's truck. Puck driving, Rachel in the middle, holding Santana's hand on her other side.

Rachel knew she should have told the club sooner. She felt warm for the first time in months.


	2. Not Alone

Not Alone

Puck walked into Rachel's dad's room, not sure what to expect. He saw the room was all white and boring. It was full of machines. In the middle was Rachel's dad. He had always been kind of small but he seemed even smaller now. Rachel walked up and gave him a kiss. She started to talk to him. Puck and Santana realized that they might be intruding. They walked out with a nod from Rachel

"Oh. My. God! The poor girl," Santana realized just how much Rachel had been hiding.

"It's alright San, we're going to help her." Puck says.

He saw a nurse looking at them and beckoned her over.

"Are you the nurse for Leroy Berry?" he asked, all business. She nodded

"My name is Noah Puckerman, call me Puck, and this is Santana Lopez. We're friends of Rachel's. We need to know… anything you can tell us about her and how she is. She has been hiding this from us and now we need to… fix things… fix **her**," Puck said. As a dude, he's not the best at this kind of talking, but Santana was too choked up to help (which was very rare for her).

The nurse smiled at him. "Rachel Berry has been here every day since her dad has been checked in. I tried speaking with her about her other parent, but she said that he is away and is rarely at home anymore. She leaves for school in the morning and usually is back here by five. She sleeps here as well, in the chair by his bed. Every night. She usually sits and talks with him. Sometimes not even that. Mr. Berry is usually in a haze because of his meds. This morning she was different. She wasn't dressed in her usual attire. She wasn't putting on her show. This morning at seven fifteen or so she called me. He hasn't talked." The nurse stopped.

Puck swallowed and looked at Santana who looked like she was about to start bawling.

Santana couldn't believe this. Rachel had been living at the hospital. Only leaving for school and to shower. All she did was sit with her dad without talking, because he was to zoned out. So basically, her life was sitting in a room… alone. Well not anymore. Not if she had anything to do with it.

Puck saw the resolve in her eyes and nodded. He thanked the nurse and took Santana to the cafeteria and bought them each a coffee. They sat down.

"There is no way we are not helping Rachel. She needs help. She needs friends. Puckerman, you and I are going to be there for her," Santana said, HBIC-style.

Puck leaned away from her, nodding, scared at her determination. He agreed though. Rachel had gotten rid of her show-face. She was broken and alone.

Santana leaned in. "When I was helping her get changed I saw her wrists. She had scars. She did it with her fingernails. We need to get her in a good place again, where she isn't alone." Tears fell from Santana's eyes. Puck got up, hugged Santana, and said,

"We are going to do all that." He grabbed her hand and led her upstairs. Rachel was outside grilling the nurse about the whole day. Both Santana and Puck smiled. This was the most attitude they'd seen out of her all day. She saw Puck and Santana and walked over to them.

Her eyes were puffy and tears were falling. Santana wrapped Rachel in her arms. She stepped back and said she had to run home, but she'd be back in about an hour, she whipped out her phone and walked away, making Puck smile, she looked like an army general, summoning her troops.

Puck walked with Rachel into her dad's room. They sat down on the floor, backs to the wall. Puck put his arm around her. She seemed smaller. He wandered how much she's been eating. He had felt her ribs when she was sleeping on him earlier. He pulled his phone out.

**Puck**: Watever ur plannin make it involve food. Rachel's 2 tiny

**Santana**: KK. Anyway gunna have a glee girls sleepover in hospital room. Rachel is not gunna b alone 2nite and there is no way in hell I was gunna try 2 make her leeve her dad.

**Puck**: KK. I'll give u and Rach a ride 2 skool in the morning, bring a sleepin bag for Rachel all she has is a blanket and that chair

**Santana**: Thanx. Cu soon.

Puck sighed. Santana can be a vicious bitch but once she loved somebody, and he could tell she had started to love Rachel today, she was loyal and would make sure a person never had children if they messed with people she loved.

"Are you and Santana texting about me?" Rachel asked, playfully. He looked at her. She looked tired, but calm.

"Only good stuff. I promise. She having all the glee girls sleep over in here," he told her with a smile. She smiled, glad she wouldn't be alone. He pulled out his iPod and offered her an earbud. She took it as well as the iPod. I smiled, of course she wanted to pick the song. She **was** Rachel Berry. What she picked surprised me.

"You're a Dave Mathews Band fan?"

She nodded with a smile as "The Space Between" began to play. Putting her head on my shoulder, she snuggled closer and closed her eyes. She fell asleep and I was glad.

I felt like a creeper the whole time, but I watched her sleep. Her defenses fell away and she was kind of smiling. God, she was pretty. Wait… what? Um… no this wasn't good. She needed me as a friend, not that.

Santana walked in the hospital with Brittney and Quinn. Tina, Mercedes, Kurt and Lauren were on their way. She had stopped by Breadstix on the way. She had made sure to order vegan, just for Rachel. Except the breadsticks, which were made with eggs. She had asked. Rachel didn't have to eat them. There were some things that were sacred.

Quinn followed. She felt terrible. She had immediately assumed this was all for attention. She felt guilty for all that she had done to Rachel. She vowed that, when she could, she would get Rachel alone and apologize.

Brittney was excited to give Rachel and her dad the pictures that she had been working on ever since she'd left Rachel's house.

They all walked in and were surprised to see Rachel and Puck on the floor. He put his finger to his mouth, not wanting to wake her. Quinn and Santana sprung into action. They set up Rachel's sleeping bag and Puck put her in it. He nodded to them and left.

Santana was confused. He looked like all guys did when they had something important that they had to think about: like he was about to shit himself. Wait… she looked at the sleeping Rachel. Oh. My God. Puck liked Rachel. Liked her. Not in the usual one-night stand way but in the way where there are fireworks and hearts and Valentine's Day crap. But he was with Lauren. Puck was screwed. He even mentioned breaking up and she'd probably snap him like a twig.

She lost her train of thought as Rachel woke up.

Rachel was confused. Where did Puck go? And when did Santana, Britney and Quinn get here? Hmm… he must've left when she woke up. She sat up and walked over and closed the divider of the room, which was a double but she had insisted on it being a single. She didn't want to disturb her dad. She turned around and smiled at the three, including Quinn.

"Thank you guys for doing this."

They all smiled and Santana plopped on her sleeping bag and held vegan spaghetti and meatballs (she didn't want to know what the meatballs actually were made out of) out to Rachel.

"Eat," she ordered. Rachel saw that arguing would only get her in a bad situation so she complied. It wasn't that she purposely didn't eat. She just always was caught up in her dad that she didn't let herself think about anything else. Including eating. Just then Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, and Lauren walked in, all smiling and giving Rachel a hug. Kurt's eyes sparkled.

"I got you an outfit, and you better wear it tomorrow! I want you to know I am here for you no matter what."

"Thank you Kurt," Rachel said, kissing his cheek. Clothes were how Kurt expressed himself and Rachel couldn't think of a gift that would mean more from him. He took box back with a quick "No peaking!" and went to set up his sleeping bag.

That whole night was amazing for Rachel. They all talked for hours. They talked about clothes, drama that Rachel had no idea about… actually a lot about stuff Rachel didn't know about. She had deleted her MySpace and her Facebook. She didn't mind. She was warm and happy, surrounded by her friends. The whole night Rachel noticed Quinn was exceedingly nice to her. This made her happy.

She found out that Lauren was having problems with Puck. Apparently he wouldn't go get her her Chunky Monkey about a week ago. She reassured Lauren that Puck was probably just being Puck and everything would be fine. Lauren was lucky to have somebody like Puck. Rachel felt a blush rising in her cheeks. She was jealous! She needed to cut that out. Lauren had started to become her friend and Rachel wouldn't betray that.

Eventually, they all fell asleep. Rachel was exhausted. She slept between Santana and Britney, who had drawn her pictures. Rachel had, at Britney's request, promised to draw Britney a picture of Lord Tubbington.

She wasn't alone.

Rachel woke up first and looked around. She smiled. She was surrounded by bodies. She got up and after a lot of maneuvering jumped out. She checked on Daddy. He was sleeping still. She walked out and used the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She walked out. She jumped when she saw Quinn sitting there in a tank top and sweats.

"Oh, hey," Rachel said, "I'm done so you can use the bathroom,"

Quinn shook her head, stood up, shook her head and said,

"I'm so sorry, Rachel. It sucks that I have to find out about your dad to realize that I have been so wrong in being terrible to you. I let my stupid fantasy of being a stay at home mom with Finn cloud my judgment with everything. I don't even want that anymore. I want to be here for you… Can you forgive me?" She said all at once, ending short of breath.

Rachel was really surprised. She looked at Quinn for a second. Then ran to hug her.

"Yes," Rachel said in Quinn's ear, "Also, I like your hair short like this."

Quinn was not expecting this. She laughed. She felt free. The burden that she had been feeling since yesterday was lifted, replaced by love for her newfound friend. She stepped back, had Rachel always been this tiny? She sighed, Rachel needed all the friends she could get.

The two walked back into the room. Rachel walked back into Leroy's section of the room. He was awake and was writing on his notebook. He looked up and smiled. He held up a finger for her to wait a second. She did and offered her the notebook. She looked and saw that he had written her a note. She sat in the chair and began to read.

_Dear Rachel,_

_Good morning! I just wanted to say that I am glad you told your friends. They can be there for you in a way I can't. Hearing your laugh last night was the most beautiful sound in the world to me. You need to focus on yourself just a little more. Also, stick with that Puckerman boy. He cares about you deeply. Please tell your friend Santana that I enjoyed "passing notes" with her last night after the rest of you hit the sack. She is very nice. Oh, you walked in. You look so happy. I love you Rachel._

_Hugs and kisses,_

_Daddy_

After she finished, she felt tears on her cheeks. She smiled and hugged him, giving him lots of kisses on his head.

**Thank you all who have read this! I am tearing up at the end here! Okay so I know the way I switch POV can be confusing but all of the Rachel POV, Santana POV etc. annoys the crap out of me so… I apologize **

**I'm going to steadily go through all the glee kids. I want all of them to really connect with Rachel. I'll bring in Blaine soon. Maybe Jesse. Maybe not. He was kind of a douche last episode. I'm not a Finchel fan but dude, its about time Finn did **something**, instead of following Quinn like a puppy dog. **

**Pleeeeeeeeez write reviews. They are seriously like crack. It's a reason I do this. Oh also idk if I have to do this but: I own nothing. Except the storyline. Mwahahaha that's something. I'm special. **

**Here's the deal: you review… I UPDATE! Au revior… (ha I SO failed my French final)**


	3. Fix You

Fix You

Santana woke up to a smiling Quinn. Whoa. That never happened. Quinn was digging through her bags and looked up, feeling Santana's gaze on her.

"It's all good now," She said softly. Santana nodded, knowing what she meant. She was glad they made up. Santana had been worried that Quinn would mess with Rachel, in which case she would have to rip the blonde's head off. This way was much easier. She heard Rachel talking with her dad.

Leroy Berry had to be the sweetest little man she had ever met. She had written notes back and forth with him last night, thinking it would be rude to monopolize the conversation…

**Santana: Hi Mr. Berry. I just wanted you to know that I am here for both Rachel and you.**

**Leroy: Thank you. I am worried about Rachel. She sleeps in that wooden chair and is usually alone seeing as I usually am out from the medication I am on.**

**Santana: Don't worry about it. In the past I have not been as much of a friend as I should be. I have things to make up for.**

**Leroy: Well, that was then and this is now. I think you are exactly what Rachel needs. Take care of her. I think I have to sleep now. So good night. Sleep well. **

**Santana: I will**

**Leroy: Could you ask Rachel in the morning if she would consider sleeping at home tonight? I want her sleeping in a bed, at least for one night**

**Santana: Will do Mr. Berry. I will try, I don't know if she'll agree though. Night.**

Everybody was waking up now. Rachel came back from her dad, tears on her cheeks. Britney ran up and hugged her hard, picking her up even. Santana laughed and walked over, kissed Rachel's cheek and pried her from Britney's grip.

Santana turned to Kurt, who smiled. He got his box. He opened it.

After getting Rachel ready Kurt, was beaming. She looked amazing. She was wearing a light blue dress that was made out of fabric that was ridiculously soft with a big dark purple belt around the waist. It had loose sleeves that ended at her elbow. It ended about four inches above her knee. She had brown leather thong sandals on. She looked awesome. Adios animal sweaters! Kurt stepped back and admired his work. He was glad to have made her smile. She hugged him.

Santana walked over and pulled apart the divider.

"What do you think, Mr. Berry?" she asked.

He nodded and gave a thumbs up. He wrote on his notebook in big letters.

"You look beautiful sweetheart!"

Rachel smiled, went and kissed him on the head.

"Thanks, Daddy. See you later!"

They all walked out of the room, chatting animatedly. They walked out into the parking lot. Rachel and Santana looked for Puck's truck. They saw it, and Puck.

Puck saw Rachel. She looked pretty. He usually thought of girls as just hot. This was weird. He shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking these things. He had a girlfriend. A girlfriend who he wasn't really into anymore, but still. The reason he liked Lauren was because she was hard to get. He liked the chase. But now that he had her, he didn't want her anymore. He sighed. She'd kill him if he tried to break up with her. He stopped thinking when Rachel got closer, even prettier close up. She smiled at him.

"Thanks for ditching me," she said. He was glad to see the circles under her eyes had lightened up a little. She handed him his iPod.

"How are you? Did you sleep well?" he asked as they climbed in the truck.

"Fine, and yes. How about you?" He nodded. "Same."

They walked into the school on either side of her. Santana had to run, she had before school detention. She had punched a hockey player in the face for messing with Britney.

Puck was nervous to be alone with Rachel and looked around, anywhere but her. This was funny, yesterday he'd thought nothing of her sleeping on him. Now it made him blush. That's when he saw Lauren coming towards him. On her arm was a HUGE dude. Buddy Hollings. The school wrestling champ. She walked up to me and stopped.

"I apologize. I am dumping your ass Puckerman." Hollings nodded. Puck shrugged.

"Okay," he said, and pulled Rachel away, happy at the sudden turn of events.

Rachel looked at him and said, "Are you alright, Puck?" She looked concerned. He looked into those warm chocolate eyes and smiled.

"Slightly better than alright," he smiled. She nodded, and dropped the matter.

He walked her to her first class. Once there he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She walked in. He looked around and saw Sam, who was also in this class with Rachel.

"Sam!" he called.

Sam came over and said, "Sup?"

"Watch Rachel. Don't let anybody pick on her." Sam nodded and waved Puck off to his first class.

"I will. Don't worry."

Sam walked into English and saw Rachel sitting in the back. He went and sat by her.

"Good morning, Sam," she said, smiling.

"Hey. How are you doing?" He asked.

"I've been worse," she said sadly.

"I was with Santana. She said you were better."

"To tell the truth, I'm better than I was. I'm just sorry that I'm taking up everybody's time,"

"Rachel! No. We are here for you. All of us. You can't do this alone. Don't ever think that this is a waste of our time. It isn't," he told her forcefully. Why couldn't she see just how bad she was? Puck had told him that Rachel had scars on her wrists that she had made with her fingernails. Being alone was terrible for her. He grabbed her hand. She looked at him with silent thanks.

They partnered up for a reading assignment from the teacher. They were reading 1984. Rachel thought the book was scary. She hadn't been able to use her computer for a week when we first got it. Sam thought this was hilarious and she mock slapped him, saying something about government conspiracy. The two had a lot of fun reading out loud in a wide variety of voices and accents. Rachel was sad when the bell rang. She had had fun with Sam.

"Thanks," she said as they walked out of the room.

"For what?" Sam asked.

"Making me smile."

"Your welcome," he said, watching her walk away towards a waiting Santana and Puck. God, she was tiny. He sighed and walked the other way.

The rest of the day went well for Rachel. Today had been fun. She had had at least one glee-clubber in each class so she was good. Now she was heading for glee.

She thought of Puck. He had walked her to every single class today and had made sure she was good with everything. When Azimio had been about to start being difficult towards her he had jumped to her defense and had pushed Azimio into a locker, then steered her away from him. He was free of Lauren and seemed happy about it. She sighed and walked into glee club. She saw that she was last. The glee club was standing in formation facing her and the band was ready. Britney, who she had been walking with her, kissed Rachel's cheek and joined them Mr. Shue gestured for the band to begin. The glee club all walked and surrounded Rachel in a loose circle

Puck stepped forward and touched her arm, looking deep in her eyes and sang...

**When you try your best, but you don't succeed  
>When you get what you want, but not what you need<br>When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep  
>Stuck in reverse<br>**  
>Then he stopped and Santana started.<p>

**And the tears come streaming down your face  
>When you lose something you can't replace<br>When you love someone, but it goes to waste  
>Could it be worse?<strong>

They stepped back and Britney stepped towards Rachel, with a clear as a bell voice

**Lights will guide you home  
>And ignite your bones<br>And I will try to fix you**

Sam came up and took her hand.

**And high up above or down below  
>When you're too in love to let it go<br>But if you never try you'll never know  
>Just what you're worth<br>**  
>Then they all sang together.<p>

**Lights will guide you home  
>And ignite your bones<br>And I will try to fix you**

Artie started playing the guitar solo, giving Rachel a smile. Then the club sang…

**Tears stream down on your face  
>When you lose something you cannot replace<br>Tears stream down on your face  
>And I...<br>**

They all group hugged Rachel,continuing to sing...

**Tears stream down on your face  
>I promise you I will learn from my mistakes<br>Tears stream down on your face  
>And I...<br>**  
>They all backed off leaving Rachel with just Puck, who sang...<p>

**Lights will guide you home  
>And ignite your bones<br>And I will try to fix you.**

She looked at him, then she buried her face in his shirt, silently crying. He held her.

After a while, she pulled back and smiled at him, mouthing a silent thank you, and moved on to the rest of the club. She found out that this whole idea was Puck's. This made her very happy. Afterwards, Mr. Shue gave them the hour to simply hang out.

Santana and Kurt, her accomplice, approached Rachel, preparing herself for this.

"Hey, Rachel?" she said.

Rachel turned, "Yeah?"

"Um, last night I talked, kind of, with your dad. He wanted me to ask to you to sleep in a bed, just for tonight. I made sure he had his phone by him, so you could text him. I also gave the nurse both yours and my numbers, just in case anything happened…" she trailed off, waiting for an answer.

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, I guess I could." Kurt jumped in the air, clapping his hands. Rachel looked at him, raising her eyebrows.

He smiled and said, loud enough for the whole club to hear, "Sleepover at my house! Everybody is invited!" The guys rolled there eyes and the girls squealed, excited.

Rachel walked out of the school with Puck. She asked him to drop her at her place. She needed to shower and pack for tonight. He agreed. When they pulled out she gave him a kiss on the cheek and another thank you for the song. She got out quickly and ran up to her house. She didn't see the pained look on Puck's face.

Rachel was driving Puck crazy. Usually he was all over the girls he wanted. He couldn't do that with Rachel. She had her dad to worry about and… God! He dialed Santana's number. He knew she knew. He had been getting knowing looks from her all day. He needed her advice.

Rachel walked into her house. She set down her stuff. She stopped when she heard somebody in the kitchen. It was Dad. Hiram Berry was in the kitchen. She walked into the kitchen, not sure what to expect.

He turned when she walked in. Rachel took a step back when she saw him. His eyes were bloodshot. He was wearing clothes that looked like they had been worn for days. He smelled like he hadn't bathed in weeks. He also smelled like alcohol.

"There you are. You look nice," he said, scoffing at her, "Your father is dying in the hospital and you are out with friends."

Rachel was scared. She had never seen her dad like this. Ever. He took a step toward her and she took another one back, into a wall. She had nowhere to go.

"How could you? You don't care about Leroy! As long as you have your friends! That stupid glee club."

He stepped forward blocking her escape with either arm, leaning over her. She was crying.

"Dad, please stop," she whimpered. She quickly pressed five on her phone, behind her back. Earlier, Puck had assigned his number to that and told her never to hesitate to call.

* * *

><p>Puck heard his phone ringing. He had just left Rachel and she was already calling? He grabbed it, while stopping at a stop sign. He answered and said, "Hello?"<p>

"No Dad! I love Daddy and would never leave him!"

"You're lying, all you care about is your friends!" Then Puck heard a smack and Rachel must have dropped the phone. He turned his truck around sharply, glad no other cars were around. He kept his phone to his ear, and heard more struggling. He stepped on the gas, praying he would make it in time…

**Man I have skill. Even I'm on the edge of my seat, and I know what happens next… well kinda. **

**Anyway, whatd you think? Do I suck at action or not? Cause I'm not sure…**

**OH btw Dad: Hiram, Daddy: Leroy**

**PLEEEEZ review. You would make my life. **


	4. I Don't Care

**Yes, Princesakarlita411, I** am **evil. Now that we have that sorted out I'm gunna keep writing. I was gunna update tomorrow but I cant sleep. My sis has a sleepover with her crazy friends and keeps screaamin! That and I'm hyped up on my friends cupcakes. Enjoy!... actually this is serious stuff right here that shouldn't be enjoyed… oh well. Just read it.**

She had dropped the phone when her dad had slapped her. She tried to scramble away from her dad, hoping Puck had heard everything and was coming. Her dad caught her around the waist and threw her on the floor. Rachel landed hard on her hip on the wooden floor.

"You need to worry about Leroy! He's dying and you don't care. You, bitch! You are so self absorbed." He reached down, basically picked her up and set her down, roughly

"You're just letting him die!" he yelled.

He punched her low, right in the middle of the stomach and she flew back. He did this just as Puck came in. There was nothing Hiram could do. Puck played three varsity sports and worked out hard everyday. Puck came in quick and punched Hiram right above the nose, knocking him out cold. He made sure Hiram was out while ripping out his phone, calling 911.

"Hello?" he heard.

"Yes. I'm at 413 Stevenson Drive. I need an ambulance and..." he looked at Mr. Berry, "the police. A man just assaulted his daughter, but he's out cold so… I need that ambulance now for his daughter." Puck was in survival mode: calm and focused. He had vowed he would take care of Rachel.

He hung up and walked over to Rachel, who was unconscious. He refused to dwell on how broken she looked. Her forehead was bruising. Her legs were cut and bruised up. There was probably more damage but he wasn't sure. He heard the police car and the ambulance. He went out, met them and walked them in. They put Hiram in handcuffs and carried him to the police car. They put Rachel on a stretcher with a neck brace. Puck rode in the ambulance with her.

Puck sent out a mass glee club text, including Mr. Shue.

**Puck: Get your asses to the hospital. Rachel's dad, Hiram, came home and hurt Rachel. BAD.**

He got no replies. Everybody was rushing to their cars.

Everybody was in the waiting room. They had taken Rachel and immediately took her to do X-rays. Her doctor came in.

"Rachel Berry?" he said looking, for her parents.

Puck stood up. "All of us are here for her," he said, motioning to the fully present glee club.

"Ok, She has multiple cracked and or a bruised ribs. Two are broken. She has a minor concussion from hitting her head on the wood floor. She must have landed on her wrist wrong because that was broken," he said, "We reset her wrist and taped up her ribs. She doesn't need a neck brace. She is heavily bruised on her legs and on the left side of her face. He looked around. Despite all of that, she's awake, which is a small miracle. She's a fighter. Some people don't wake up for several days from this kind of beating. She asked for a Noah Puckerman?" he looked around at all of there faces.

"That's me," Puck said.

"Follow me," the doctor said. He led Puck to a room down the hall. He opened the door for Puck and left. Puck walked in. What he saw broke his heart. Rachel was on the bed, looking tinier and more vulnerable than ever. She had hospital scrubs on and a brace on her left hand.

What hurt Puck the most was her face. A huge bruise went from above her eyebrow to the left side of her chin. She looked at him, giving him a weak smile.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hi," he said, kneeling by her beside so he was at her level.

"I'm really sick of hospitals," she whispered.

"I know. I'll spring you as soon as Doc gives the okay,"

"Puck?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you kiss me?"

Puck was shocked. He nodded, stood up and, careful not to jostle her, carefully touched his lips to hers. It wasn't the fireworks that Quinn was always going on and on about. It was a slow burn in the pit of his stomach that made him feel warm inside. He backed up just a few inches. She opened her eyes and smiled. She reached up her non-injured hand and stroked his cheek. He grabbed her hand and kissed it, then looked at it, then at her.

"You're hands are cute." They really were. They were so tiny.

"I love being with you, Rachel. But, there are thirteen other people out there that are having trouble not coming and kicking the door in to see you."

She smiled and nodded. He walked out and motioned for Santana to go in.

Santana started crying when she walked in. Rachel's eyes widened in concern.

"Santana, it's okay. You don't need to cry. I can probably come home in the morning anyway,"

"Rachel," Santana said, walking closer, "I could have been there. I might have…"

"No. Santana, this is not your fault. There is nothing anybody could have done," Rachel said, grabbing Santana's hand and giving it a squeeze. Santana stared at Rachel.

"How do you do it?" she asked suddenly.

"Do what?" Rachel asked, confused.

"Throw aside all of your worries for yourself and manage to only worry about other people? You've changed, Rachel. You aren't the Rachel who did everything to get herself ahead anymore. First with your dad and now everybody. Sam told me you were worried about all of us not having enough time for ourselves since we were helping you."

Rachel looked at Santana with a confused expression.

"I haven't really thought about it. I guess… I guess I have learned that the people around me are more important. I would rather that I was hurting than you." She stopped as more tears fell from Santana's eyes.

"You shouldn't cry Santana," Rachel said. Santana leaned down and kissed her on her cheek.

"You might as well just bring everybody in. I'll just yell at the doctor if he tells you guys to get out," she said. Santana laughed. She looked so small right now and the idea of her yelling and scaring anybody was kind of an interesting picture to imagine. Santana nodded. She walked out.

"You all can come in," she said, to the gathered club, "but if you upset her I will personally punch you in the face." She led them all back in. They were all sad to see the beaten girl in front of them. She was trying to look strong but they could tell it was hard for her.

"Does anybody know how Daddy is?" she asked, making some of them roll their eyes at the fact that she wasn't thinking about her current situation but somebody else's.

"I talked to the doctor," Mr. Shuester said, "He's doing fine. He was given more medication around two thirty and has been out sleeping ever since. The doctor said he wouldn't be up until tomorrow afternoon." He stopped and everybody could tell he was holding something back.

"What else, Mr. Shue?" Rachel asked.

"Before they gave him meds, they gave did another Cat Scan. He…," Mr. Shue paused, staring at Rachel

"What?" she asked, looking scared.

"They said he has about a week to a week and a half to live. The cancer has spread further and soon he won't be able to see. Eventually, he won't be able to breathe." The room was silent. Rachel looked down at her hands in her lap. Nobody moved.

She looked up, fresh tears falling.

"I am going to make his last days the best of his life then. Nobody and I mean **nobody,** is going to tell him about my accident. He doesn't need to worry about me," she said with such a forceful voice that nobody dared arguing with her.

She pressed the button for the doctor by her bed. He walked in, eyes widening at the number of people in the room.

"Doctor Steven, I am getting out of here as soon as I can. I need to be there for my father. I don't want to hear it," as he opened his mouth to talk. She threw her blanket back exposing her bruised legs. She gritted her teeth in pain but stood up holding her stomach as she moved, pulling at the tape, holding her ribs. She held up a hand stopping all of them that had stepped forward to help her. She gingerly walked over to the doctor, whose mouth was hanging open, wincing with every step.

"Prescribe me with whatever you have to so I don't feel this shitty. I am going to be there when my dad wakes up tomorrow and I am not going to show him how I am feeling. He needs me."

The doctor nodded mutely and rushed off. Rachel looked at Puck, pain etched on her face. He helped her back to the bed and she sat down pulling her down him beside her and leaned on him heavily. They sat in silence. The doctor rushed in with a prescription.

"Three a day," he said sternly, "I don't like this."

Rachel looked up at him and said, "I don't care. My dad wants me to get out of here and sleep in a real bed. That's what I am going to do." She motioned for Puck to take her out. He picked her up, bridal style, and walked carefully out, holding her out in front of him so he didn't jostle her as much. She weighed like a hundred pounds, it was easy.

They all went to Rachel's house. Puck and Santana agreed to stay the night. Puck had put Rachel in her bed and kissed her good night. She smiled at him and went to sleep. Puck walked out closing her door gently.

**once again: close to tears. **

**I hope you liked this! Review pleeese!**


	5. Chapter 5

Rachel woke up to sunlight coming in her window. She sighed. Her wrist hurt. She also had a headache. She knew that she had to be strong for her dad, but she wasn't sure if she could do it.

She tried to sit up and gave a small whimper. It wasn't the same sharp pain from last night but it ached so bad and she was really sore.

A second later Puck came in, having heard her whimper. He had slept in the guestroom next to Rachel's room. Last night he had persuaded Santana to go home, since she looked like she was about to collapse, she was so tired. He brought Rachel a glass of water and her medication. She took it, drank the water and then put it on her nightstand.

She patted the bed beside her. He climbed on the bed and sat next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders and she put her head on his shoulder.

After a moment of silence, she said, "I don't know if I can do it. Not just put on a brave face for Daddy, but deal with it when he…" She trailed off as tears fell from her eyes.

"I know you can do it Rachel. You are the strongest person I know. And I will be there every step of the way" Puck whispered in her ear. He stood up and walked over to the baby grand piano that she had gotten for Christmas. He sat down, looked at Rachel and then started to play, then sang…

**What if there was no lie  
>Nothing wrong, nothing right<br>What if there was no time  
>And no reason, or rhyme<br>What if you should decide  
>That you don't want me there by your side<br>That you don't want me there in your life  
><strong>

He looked straight into her eyes

**What if I got it wrong  
>And no poem or song<br>Could put right what I got wrong  
>Or make you feel I belong<strong>

**What if you should decide**  
><strong>That you don't want me there by your side<strong>  
><strong>That you don't want me there in your life<strong>

He closed his eyes, feeling every word he said

**Ooh ooh-ooh, that's right  
>Let's take a breath, jump over the side<br>Ooh ooh-ooh, that's right  
>How can you know it, if you don't even try<br>Ooh ooh-ooh, that's right  
><strong>  
><strong>Every step that you take<br>Could be your biggest mistake  
>It could bend or it could break<br>That's the risk that you take  
><strong>  
><strong>What if you should decide<br>That you don't want me there in your life  
>That you don't want me there by your side<strong>

**Ooh ooh-ooh, that's right**  
><strong>Let's take a breath, jump over the side<strong>  
><strong>Ooh ooh-ooh, that's right<strong>  
><strong>How can you know when you don't even try<strong>  
><strong>Ooh ooh-ooh, that's right<strong>

**Oh - Ooh ooh-ooh, that's right,  
>Let's take a breath, jump over the side.<br>Ooh ooh-ooh, that's right,  
>You know that darkness always turns into light.<br>Ooh-ooh, that's right.**

He had been so into the song he hadn't noticed that Rachel had slowly gotten up and was standing behind him. He turned and saw her. Rachel wiped the tear from his cheek.

"I was terrible to you Rachel. I slushied you, made fun of you, laughed at you…," he paused. "I would get it if you didn't want to be with me."

Rachel looked at Puck for a second and, ignoring the pain of her ribs as she did so, leaned in and kissed him. After a moment she leaned back.

"Noah Puckerman. That was then, this is now. I want to be with you. You have helped me more than anybody these past couple days." She kissed him again, harder. After a couple of minutes, in which Puck had to constantly remind himself that she was injured, she leaned back and smiled at him evilly.

"Go to school, Puck," she said bossily.

"What? No!" he said, incredulous.

"Look I need to be alone. I need to figure a few things out. Come pick me up after school and we'll go to the hospital." She said, giving Puck a look that said arguing was pointless. He sighed in defeat.

"Fine, but only because you asked. I'm gonna text you all day though, don't forget to take another pill at one." She smiled and nodded.

He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and left, knowing he'd have to hurry if he was going to make it to school on time.

Rachel sighed as Puck left. She really didn't really know what she would do without him. His song to her had been the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. She got out of bed and went to take a shower. It had felt amazing. She walked out feeling better from the shower and the meds, which were finally kicking in. She walked downstairs and grabbed a banana and popped in Funny Girl, which she always watched when she needed to clear her head. She accidentally fell asleep. She woke up and saw it was one thirty. She went to call the police station, to find out about her dad.

Rachel hung up the phone, not able to believe what she had been told. She had a text from Puck, asking how she was. She replied "fine, watchin Funny Girl " even though it was a lie.

Why her? It wasn't bad enough that her dad had cancer, but her other dad had to be in jail. Not only was he to be charged with assault but also possession. Aparently, they had found his car down the block. He had had a ton of pot in the car. She began to cry. Gut wrenching sobs. She was so upset that she punched the wall, with her injured hand. Pain shot up her arm and she turned and slid down the wall to sit on the floor, whimpering. She picked up her phone and texted Puck two words.

**Rachel: Please come  
><strong>

Puck was in Glee when he got the text, he looked at his phone and immediately walked out and ran to his truck.

Puck came in Rachel's house, which was silent. He walked into her kitchen and saw her. She was sitting on the floor with red puffy eyes and the phone sitting on the floor by her. She was clutching at her wrist. She looked up at him with watery eyes.

"I punched the wall," she said bluntly. He walked over, bent down, and picked her up. He took her to a couch in the next room. He looked into her eyes and asked what had happened.

"I called the police station about Dad. He… um, is being charged with assault and possession. He had a bunch of pot in his car." Puck wanted to punch the wall too. Why had all of this happened to her?

"Do you still want to go see your Dad?" he asked gently. She nodded.

"Let's just tell my dad that I tripped and fell on my wrist. I don't think taking the brace off is a good idea." She gingerly stood up. She took his hand and she slowly made her way up the stairs, refusing his offer to carry her. Her dad would have to see her walk. She shamelessly got dressed in front of him to go to the hospital.

Puck, for once, didn't have one dirty thought. How could he. His breath caught when he saw that she was bruised all over. She put on a dark purple long-sleeve shirt, jeans and converse. She walked over to her mirror and put on some makeup over her bruise on her face. When she was satisfied, it was completely gone.

She grabbed his hand and they went out to his truck.

They walked into Leroy's room. He was still asleep. They sat on the floor, up against the wall as they had before. Puck took out his iPod, Rachel put her head on his shoulder and they listened, waiting for Rachel's dad to wake up.

**I hope you all liked this. I have become **so** attached to this story. **

**Pleez review! Give me some suggestions!**


	6. You Don't Know Me

You Don't Know Me

When Leroy's eyes opened up, Rachel was off in a mad dash to his side, completely ignoring the pain it caused.

"Hi Daddy, how are you?" She asked.

He weakly grabbed his notebook.

"Groggy but alright, princess. Will you go asked the nurse about my blood pressure?" She nodded and walked out as normally as she could.

As soon as she was gone Leroy motioned for Puck, still sitting by the wall, to come to his bed. Puck complied. Leroy handed him a folded up piece of paper. "Read later" was written on it. Puck nodded and shoved it in his pocket just as Rachel walked in.

"The doctor said your blood pressure was a little low but he would put the necessary things you need in your IV," Rachel told her dad.

Her dad smiled and wrote something on his notebook and smiled at her as he handed it to her.

"Will you sing for me Rachel?"

An hour later both Rachel and Puck had sore throats. Leroy had a wide grin on his face.

He gave Rachel a note.

"Honey, I want you to go home. You need a good night sleep and you won't get one here. Please," he said as she opened her mouth to argue. She slowly nodded, kissed his cheek and, grabbing Puck's hand, walked to Puck's truck.

She got a text from Santana and Britney asking her to sleep over at Santana's house. She told Puck and he nodded, glad he could get some sleep. It wasn't that he was tired of being there for Rachel, the exact opposite case was true. He had not slept at all the previous night, having been worried about her and continually checking on her.

They pulled up to her house and seeing as Rachel had an hour before she had to go to Santana's they plopped down on a couch, with nothing to do. Rachel, all of the sudden turned to Puck and pulled him in for a kiss. A seriously hot make-out session occurred. Puck was blown away. A chaste kiss from Rachel was enough to make him crazy, but this, there were no words to describe how he felt.

After a while their passionate kisses changed into slow, sweet kisses. Rachel leaned back and looked into Puck's eyes and smiled. They touched their foreheads together. Puck tried to think of a way to tell her how he felt. He was at a loss then all of the sudden he knew.

"I love you," he whispered. Her eyes widened. After all this was Puck. He was not known for saying those words.

Puck was surprised at himself. He had never said that and meant it. He had said it to Quinn, but she had just had his baby, what else could he say?

"I know that we have only technically been together for a day. But I think this goes back further. I said that I didn't want to be friends that week we dated only because I was trying to be badass. You were my best friend when we were little. Seeing how you've changed and care about everybody has only…," he struggled for words, "made me want you more," he slowly said. Rachel looked at him for a second.

"I love you too," she said.

A half hour later Puck dropped Rachel off at Santana's. He watched as she was met at the door by an excited and happy Britney. He was happier than he could ever remember being. He took the letter from Leroy out of his pocket and began to read.

_Dear Noah,_

_Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. I know that you have started being there for Rachel and will continue to. I know my situation. I know that I am not sure if I will see next week. I know that Rachel will be alright if she has you and the rest of the glee club. She has changed. She doesn't give a second thought for herself anymore. What I am asking you to do is be that person who thinks about her __**for**__ her. In my will I have asked her aunt Lisa to come and live with her here for the next year or so until Rachel graduates from high school. Rachel and Lisa are great friends. She should be arriving shortly. In the coming days I will grow steadily worse. I probably won't understand anything going on at all. I need you to be there for Rachel. She is not in a position where she can lose anybody else right now._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Leroy_

Puck leaned back. Tears coming down his cheeks.

* * *

><p>Rachel came to the sleepover and was immediately ambushed by Britney. Santana walked up and kissed Rachel's forehead, leading her inside. They ate takeout and then did each others nails and watched movies. Santana went to get the phone around ten forty-five, leaving Britney and Rachel alone.<p>

"Are you alright Rachel?" Britney asked.

"Considering the circumstances Britney, I could be a heck of a lot worse," Rachel replied honestly, "I'm not necessarily good though. I close my eyes and can't even imagine what I am going to do when Daddy is gone."

Britney wrapped her arms around the smaller girl. Rachel began to shake with sobs. She couldn't believe she could still cry after all of the tears she had shed.

Britney also began to cry.

Rachel turned, quickly stopping her crying.

"Britney, what's wrong?" Rachel asked, a concerned look on her face.

"Your crying and all sad. When my friends cry, I cry," Britney said, still crying.

Rachel turned and wiped the tears off Britney's cheeks.

"Britney you are a wonderful friend." She stood up, still a little unsteady from the accident, and grabbed the picture she had drawn of Lord Tubbington. She presented it to Britney, who immediately smiled and gave Rachel a big hug.

Santana came downstairs after a while.

"Damn Rachel, you have Puck whipped," she stated.

"What?" Rachel asked, blushing.

"He just called asking how you were," Santana said with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah… he told me he loved me earlier," Rachel confessed with a small smile.

"Damn," Santana repeated, incredulous.

The three stayed up a little longer then forced Rachel to sleep in a bed, just like her dad wanted.

The next morning, Saturday, Rachel woke up, momentarily forgetting where she was, then she remembered the previous night with a smile. As she walked out she woke up Santana and Britney. The three had breakfast. Then Rachel's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi Rachel, its Kurt," Kurt said.

"Oh hey," Rachel said.

"So I was wondering if you would be interested in coming to Dalton today. I was going to go see Blaine and he asked me to ask you to come. The Warblers wanted to say hi and see how you were." Rachel laughed and agreed.

She told Kurt to pick her up at Santana's then decided to text Puck, to catch him up.

**Rachel: Hey**

**Puck: Mornin beautiful**

**Rachel: Aww shux**

**Puck: Stop you no its tru, howd u sleep? Do u need me 2 pick u up?**

**Rachel: I slept good. I actually just got invited to go to Dalton w/ Kurt for the mornin**

**Puck: That's cool, I'll cu later then… do u wanna c ur dad wen u get back? I cood come w/ u…**

**Rachel: Ya thatd b good… luv u!**

**Puck: Right back at u!**

Rachel smiled and went to get dressed

Meanwhile, Puck texted Kurt.

**Puck: Hey after u guys get back, drop Rach off the park**

**Kurt: Sure… Y?**

**Puck: The girl needs some fun. Gunna hve a picnic w/ her**

**Kurt: Awww **

**Puck: yeah yeah. Take care of her 2day**

**Kurt: Always**

Rachel walked out as Kurt pulled up, waving goodbye to Santana and Britney.

"What's up Kurt?" Rachel asked, buckling her seatbelt and taking a sip of the mocha frappacino Kurt had picked up for her.

"I'm shocked at the outfit you're wearing. Jean shorts and a tank top, which btw is very cute, and converse. I like it," Kurt said, much to Rachel's enjoyment. Getting Kurt's approval when it came to clothes is an accomplishment. Rachel switched on the radio. The two sang along to every song at the top of their lungs. The ride went by very fast. They pulled into Dalton, seeing lots of boys hanging around outside in regular clothes, not their uniforms, since it was the weekend. Rachel was looked at by a great many boys, all giving her approving stares. She smiled inwardly.

Rachel thought the place was amazing. She walked in the building with Kurt leading her. He said hi to almost everybody they passed. They made it to Warbler hall, where a practice was just beginning.

They heard the sound of Wes's gavel asking for quiet, which didn't happen. Kurt knocked on the door loudly. A brown haired boy answered it.

"Hey, Nick," Kurt said, grabbing Rachel's hand and pulled her in. Blaine walked up to Kurt and kissed his cheek. Then he turned to Rachel.

"Hi Rachel, it's nice to see you," he said and gave her a hug.

He helped her sit down and stood in front of her with all of the Warblers behind him in a line, then they started singing, the other Warblers provided the music with their voices.

**I wanna ask you -  
>Do you ever sit and wonder,<br>It's so strange  
>That we could be together for<br>So long, and never know, never care  
>What goes on in the other one's head?<strong>

All of the Warblers made their way through, each leaning in and kissing her cheek.

**Things I've felt but I've never said  
>You said things that I never said<br>So I'll say something that I should have said long ago:**

Rachel began singing her part

(_You don't know me_)  
><strong>You don't know me at all<strong>  
>(<em>You don't know me<em>)  
><strong>You don't know me at all<strong> (_at all_)

**You could have just propped me up on the table like a mannequin**  
><strong>Or a cardboard stand-up and paint me<strong> (_paint me_)  
><strong>Any face that you wanted me<br>To be seen.  
>We're<strong>  
><strong>Damned by the existential moment where<br>We saw the couple in the coma and  
>It was we were the cliche,<br>But we carried on anyway.  
><strong>  
><strong>So, sure, I could just close my eyes.<br>Yeah, sure, trace and memorize,  
>But can you go back once you know<br>**  
>(<em>You don't know me<em>)  
><strong>You don't know me at all<strong>  
>(<em>You don't know me<em>)  
><strong>You don't know me at all<strong> (_at all_)

(_You don't know me_)  
><strong>You don't know me at all<strong>  
>(<em>You don't know me<em>)  
><strong>You don't know me<br>**  
><strong>If I'm the person that you think I am<strong> (_Ah ah ahh_)  
><strong>Clueless chump you seem to think I am<strong> (_Ah ah ahhh_)  
><strong>So easily led astray,<br>An errant dog who occasionally escapes and needs a shorter leash, then  
>Why the fuck would you want me back?<strong>

Maybe it's because

(_You don't know me at all_)

**Ahhh ah  
>Ahhh ah<strong>

(_You don't know me,  
>you don't know me.<em>)

**Ahhh ah  
>Ahhh ah<strong>

**So, what I'm trying to say is  
><strong>What (What?)  
><strong>I'm trying to tell you<strong>  
><strong>It's not gonna come out like I wanna say it cause I know you'll only change it.<strong>  
>(<em>Say it.<em>)

As they all finished kissing her cheek they surrounded her and danced freestyle by themselves and she was laughing

(_You don't know me_)  
><strong>You don't know me at all<strong>  
>(<em>You don't know me<em>)  
><strong>You don't know me at all<strong> (_at all_)

(_You don't know me_)  
><strong>You don't know me at all<br>**(_You don't know me_)  
><strong>You don't know me at all<strong> (_at all_)

**What?**

(_Mmmm, ohh oh  
>Ah ah ah ah ah<br>Aha ah ah ah  
>Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah<br>Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh  
>Aha ah<br>Ah ah  
>Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah<br>Oh-oh-oh-oh oh ohh_)

Rachel clapped after all of the Warblers finished. She looked at all of them, tearing up a bit.

"Thank you. All of you. That sounded amazing." They all converged on her, talking with her. Kurt and Blaine backed off, happy that their plan of making Rachel happy had worked. Rachel simply hung out with all of the guys that morning. When she found out that they hadn't had breakfast yet she went to their dorm kitchen with Kurt in tow and made them all vegan pancakes, though they were skeptical at first, they loved them. If they had had doubts about Rachel before, now they were all ready to be her servant for life as long as she made them pancakes.

She was helping clean up afterwards. She leaned over the table and cried out in pain and fell on the ground, hard. Every single Warbler rushed towards her. Her breathing was shallow and tears were falling from her eyes.

"What happened Rachel?" Blaine asked.

"I, my… as I leaned I… the tape pulled off and I stretched my…," Rachel couldn't continue. Her side hurt so bad. She gritted her teeth. Kurt got on his phone immediately.

"Come on… pick up Puck…," Kurt waited

"Hello?" Puck said

"Ok, um Puck, Rachel leaned the wrong way and pulled at the tape. She's hurt."

"Oh. Here hang up."

Puck sent Kurt a picture of the way the tape should be. Kurt looked at Rachel and decided to do it here; it would hurt for her to move. He walked towards Rachel, looked at her for permission. She saw what he was doing and she pulled off her shirt, embarrassed even through the pain. Even though Kurt's fingers were gentle she soon forgot her embarrassment as the pain increased. The boys eyes widened when they saw just how beaten up and bruised she was. Kurt fixed the tape as best he could and sent Blaine to get her some ice. He helped put her shirt on over her head and got her on a nearby couch in the Warbler's room. She motioned for him to get her purse and he did, she got out her pills and took one.

Blaine came with the ice and Rachel put it on over the worst spot. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, willing herself to calm down. Kurt covered her with a blanket, before long she had fallen into a fitful sleep. They all left the room so she could sleep, knowing she needed it. They went into the hallway and sat down. They all couldn't shake the image of Rachel in pain on the ground, all bruised up.

* * *

><p>Puck immediately drove to Dalton after the call. He walked up and asked where the Warblers were. He made his way there and found them all sitting in their hallway. Kurt pointed at the door. Puck nodded at Kurt and a hello to Blaine, as he made his way to the door. He walked in to find Rachel asleep on the couch. He walked in, picked up her tiny feet and put them on his lap. He sighed and waited for the girl that he loved to wake up so he could kiss the pain away.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>I reaaly liked writing this chapter. Tell me what you think!<strong>

**Pleeez review!**


	7. She's Fine

She's Fine

Rachel opened her eyes and looked around and her eyes met Puck's. She smiled guiltily.

"Sorry you had to come," She said, biting her lip.

"Never apologize for something like this, Rach," Puck said, and kissed her cheek.

"Can you walk?" he asked, helping her sit up.

"What's the hurry?" Rachel asked.

"I got a call from the doctor. You're dad has lost his sight," Puck said, rubbing her back.

"Then we need to get to the hospital right now," she agreed and slowly stood up, getting her balance.

"My ribs are a little better. I can walk," she said and he put his arm around her waist just in case.

She opened the door and smiled at the Warblers.

"Thank you for a fun morning. Sorry I kinda spoiled it," she said, and was immediately met with a chorus of "No's".

She said her goodbyes to the Warblers and got in Puck's truck.

They drove to the hospital in comfortable silence.

They walked into the room and Rachel walked to her dad's side.

"Daddy?" she asked.

He nodded. A tear fell down her cheek, and she grabbed his hand. She told him about her morning, minus her "incident" because she didn't want him to know that. She babbled on about other stuff, understanding that he wouldn't like the silence because he would have even less of an idea what was going on.

Puck went out to his truck. What he brought back made her smile. He had brought his picnic for her, plus he had brought her an air mattress and some blankets, knowing that she wouldn't want to leave. She told her dad what they were doing and he nodded and waved her to the other side of the room.

Puck spread out the picnic and they ate and talked about many things, for Rachel's dad. He had also brought up his guitar and they sang a lot for him. After they finished, they found that he had fallen asleep. Rachel smiled at Puck and gave him a thank you kiss.

Rachel and Puck talked quietly about everything. Puck found himself found himself telling Rachel about his own dad, who had left. Rachel listened to him. Everything sort of poured out of him. How he had to shield his sister, help out his mother, and help his family survive. Suddenly Puck stopped.

"I shouldn't be going on and on about my dad problems. Not now," he said, shaking his head.

"Puck, never think that I don't want to help you and hear you out," she said, looking deep in his eyes. He nodded.

The nurse came in to check on Leroy for the last time for the night. She smiled at Rachel and Puck as she walked out.

"You should sleep," Puck whispered in her ear. She nodded and changed into her pajamas, which she kept at the hospital.

She got on the air mattress under the blanket and he moved to leave.

"Puck," she said. He turned and understood. He took off his shoes, shirt and shorts and climbed in next to her. She snuggled into him and he wrapped his arms around her. She was cold, and tiny. They were both asleep in minutes.

Puck woke up the next morning and watched Rachel sleep. She looked calm and peaceful. As soon as she woke up she would be back to having a worried look in her eyes and a furrowed brow. He closed his eyes and just rested, not wanting to wake her. She needed all the sleep she could get. Of course that's when she woke up.

He opened his eyes as Rachel moved a little. She opened her eyes and looked at him. They both just looked at each other for a while, the sun filtering somewhat through the window shades. Rachel smiled slightly, eyes still heavy with sleep and moved forward and lightly kissed Puck.

"Thank you for staying," she whispered and disentangled herself from him to go to the bathroom and brush her teeth. Puck sat up. He had never felt this close with anybody before. He didn't know how Rachel did it. Staying as calm as she was. If it was him, he'd go crazy. He sighed and got dressed. Rachel came back in and did the same.

They went out together and talked to the doctor. He said Leroy would be sleeping for longer and longer periods due to his medication. Rachel walked over to the nurse and told her to text her when Leroy woke up.

She grabbed Puck and they walked across the street to a nearby park that had a coffee shop in it. The two got coffee and walked around, holding hands and talking, just to talk. Rachel told him about everything she planned on doing once she got to New York. She had already been contacted by Julliard, asking her to attend a summer program for kids interested in coming once they graduated. She wasn't sure if she would yet. Her dad came first.

Puck was in awe of her. She still had her dreams even though her life was hell right now. He didn't know what he would do. He didn't want to tell her that he had looked up information about NYU and was thinking about applying. He wasn't sure if he had the grades for it. He didn't want to get her hopes up. He couldn't help but dream of being with her in New York, going to all of her shows and exploring the city together. He was jealous of Finn for being able to go on a date with her in New York. He had encouraged it. It was hard to believe that Rachel had been hiding her secret even then. Damn, she was a good actress.

The rest of the day was spent in the park and Leroy's room. Puck held Rachel as she cried as Leroy's hearing slowly got worse. They slept the way they had the night previously.

The next morning, Puck told Rachel he had to be at home to watch his sister because his mother was pulling an extra shift at her job as a dentist's assistant. She nodded and asked him to drop him off at her house. He kissed her goodbye once they got there and she slowly made her way to the house, watching him go out of the corner of her eye sadly. She went inside and took a very long shower, just standing under the water, letting it warm her up. She got out and was half dressed when she found that Puck had left his shirt here the night he had stayed. She put it on and laughed when she saw it was just above her knees. It smelled like him. Then the phone rang.

She picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Rachel Berry?"

"Yes,"

"Your father seems to have completely lost his hearing."

Rachel swallowed, closing her eyes, and leaning back against the wall.

"Thank you," she said. Rachel hung up.

She walked over and opened up the liquor cabinet, grabbed a random bottle, opened it and took a huge gulp, sliding down the wall and just sitting there, staring into space, continuing to drink, tears silently falling down her cheeks.

* * *

><p>After a while, she stopped drinking, realizing it had just made her feel numb. It hadn't taken her sadness away, at least for a little while. She sat it down and just sat there.<p>

* * *

><p>Puck walked up to Rachel's door at about five, and let himself in with the key she had given him. He walked in to a completely silent house. He sighed and walked into the kitchen and found Rachel, sitting there with a half empty bottle and her headphones in, with dead looking eyes. She had her arms around her knees and looked smaller and more vulnerable than he had ever seen her. He sat down by her, grabbing the bottle and taking a swig, and put his arm around her. They sat like that for about a half an hour. Puck sighed and stood up. He held out his hand. She looked up at him wearily and took it. He pulled her up and picked her up, bridal style. He took her upstairs, put her in her bed, and whispered in her ear that he would be back soon, kissing her forehead.<p>

He went to the hospital. He found Mr. Berry sitting up, waiting for him. He grabbed Mr. Berry's hand. He made his hand a thumbs-up, which Leroy used his hands to indentify as the signal that Puck and Mr. Berry had agreed upon as "She's okay". Mr. Berry nodded and smiled. Puck let his hands drop to his sides and left the room as Mr. Berry went to sleep.

**Thanks to ****Whatnoww for the idea of Rachel trying to drink the sorrows away**

**Tell me what you thought!**


	8. You Found Me

You Found Me

Puck woke up the next morning. He rolled over to find that the bed which he and Rachel had slept in was empty. He got out of bed, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and got dressed. He went downstairs, looking for Rachel. He heard sounds coming from the basement. He went down. The Berry's had a dance studio in their house and Rachel was in there. He walked over as music started and looked in and saw Rachel, who began to sing.

Rachel was kneeling on the ground with her head down

**I found God  
>On the corner of First and Amistad<br>Where the west  
>Was all but won<br>All alone  
>Smoking his last cigarette<br>I said, "Where you been?"  
>He said, "Ask anything".<br>**

She looked up and tears were streaked down her cheeks

**Where were you  
>When everything was falling apart?<br>All my days  
>Were spent by the telephone<br>That never rang  
>And all I needed was a call<br>That never came  
>To the corner of First and Amistad<br>**

She stood up and slowly began to dance, not a routine, just to let out all of her emotion

**Lost and insecure  
>You found me, you found me<br>Lyin' on the floor  
>Surrounded, surrounded<br>Why'd you have to wait?  
>Where were you? Where were you?<br>Just a little late  
>You found me, you found me<strong>

**In the end**  
><strong>Everyone ends up alone<strong>

She changed the lyrics for her dad

**Losing him  
>The only one who's ever known<br>Who I am  
>Who I'm not, who I wanna be<br>No way to know  
>How long he will be next to me<br>**

**Lost and insecure  
>You found me, you found me<br>Lyin' on the floor  
>Surrounded, surrounded<br>Why'd you have to wait?  
>Where were you? Where were you?<br>Just a little late  
>You found me, you found me<strong>

She fell back down on the floor, back on her knees

**Early morning  
>The city breaks<br>I've been callin'  
><strong>

She began hitting the floor with her tiny fist, over and over

**For years and years and years and years  
>And you never left me no messages<br>Ya never send me no letters  
>You got some kinda nerve<br>Taking all I want**

She stood up and danced faster than before

**Lost and insecure  
>You found me, you found me<br>Lyin' on the floor  
>Where were you? Where were you?<br>Lost and insecure  
>You found me, you found me<br>Lyin' on the floor  
>Surrounded, surrounded<br>Why'd you have to wait?  
>Where were you? Where were you?<br>Just a little late  
>You found me, you found me<br>Why'd you have to wait?  
>To find me, to find me <strong>

She stopped dancing and just stood there, shaking slightly

"Rach," Puck started, walking in slowly.

"Puck, why me?" Rachel yelled, turning towards him, more tears falling. "Why did all of this have to happen to me! I love my dad! He's going to be gone soon, and there's nothing I can do! He's the only person who's always been there and believed in me. Always! No matter what," she said, getting angry. "Why not me? I should be the one who has to suffer, not him!" She fell to the ground, crying so hard that it hurt.

Puck walked over and sat down beside her. He wrapped his arms around her tiny body and held her close as she continued to cry. He rubbed her back and whispered in her ear words of encouragement and comfort.

Rachel eventually stopped crying, but was still breathing hard.

"Why him?" she whimpered, looking into Puck's eyes.

"I don't know," he said honestly, touching his forehead to Rachel's. He thought for a second. "Leroy is strong. Just like you, Rachel. He loves you. Sometimes things like this happen and we have no control over it. Our lives are uprooted and we have no choice but to hold on to whatever stability we have left and how we deal with things like this makes us who we are," he said firmly.

Rachel kissed his cheek.

"Thank you Puck," she sighed and rested her head on his chest. They sat like that for a long time and would have sat there longer when Rachel's stomach growled. Rachel gave a small shaky laugh. Puck stood up and held out his hand to her. She took it and gingerly stood up. They went upstairs and Puck walked into the kitchen and looked around. He was by no means good at cooking. Rachel laughed when she saw his confused and slightly scared look.

She walked over and pulled out a pint of vegan ice cream from the fridge and two spoons.

"Ice cream for breakfast?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and smiling.

"I don't feel like cooking or making coffee, this is close enough," she replied and took a bite of her favorite ice cream: coffee.

They went curled up on the couch. She let Puck pick the movie. When she saw what he had put in and smiled as he joined her on the couch.

"Paging doctor faggot," she said, feeding him ice cream.

* * *

><p>Puck sighed as he left Rachel's house. All of the glee girls and Kurt had come over and were hanging with Rachel until later. She was in bad shape. She was going to get worse and worse he realized, as her dad got worse. He had seen a glimpse of all the pain she was trying to hide from everybody when she was singing and when she had lost it afterwards.<p>

The glee girls were worried about Rachel. They had talked with Puck before coming over and he had told them about her small breakdown that morning. They noticed that Rachel's refrigerator and pantry were almost empty. So they decided to have a fun cooking afternoon. Santana brought over a bunch of vegan recipes she'd gotten by emailing Rachel's Aunt Lisa, who turned out to be a pretty awesome woman.

Lisa Berry worked at Vogue magazine. Why Rachel had never mentioned this fact was beyond her, but Santana thought it was awesome and so did Kurt. Lisa said that she would be flying in Monday morning from New York and be there around noon. In the meantime she had filled Santana in on Rachel's favorite things. Rachel adored coffee, in any shape or form. The girls kept the coffee pot going all day.

* * *

><p>Rachel walked out to Puck's truck, in a much better mood then he had last seen. Tina had done her nails. Santana had French-braided Rachel's hair. Quinn had given her a CD of songs that she had burned and had talked to Rachel for a long time. Britney and Rachel had colored pictures together. Mercedes was teaching Rachel how to rap, which had had everybody in hysterics. Kurt had brought over a new outfit for Rachel and brought cards from all of the Warblers, which were sweet. They weren't simply get well soon cards, they were actual letters. The Warblers asked her to come back soon. They thanked her for the pancakes. A couple had even written her poems.<p>

Puck smiled when he saw Rachel come out. Kurt's new outfit looked good on her. She wore a sheer light blue polo tucked in to silky light blue shorts that were just above her belly botton. Over the whole thing was a long, sparkly light blue cardigan that hung open and had the sleeves brushed up. Her hair was French braided on the side and she had a low ponytail and her nails were painted dark purple.

"You look good," he said with a smile as she got in.

"Thanks," she said. She leaned her head on his shoulder and held his hand as he drove with his left hand.

They got to the hospital and Leroy was sleeping. Puck found the doctor and asked him to look at Rachel's ribs and wrist while they waited for Rachel's dad to wake up, he agreed and did another X-ray. He told them that her ribs were healing nicely, but she should be careful and he wanted her to wear the brace on her wrist for about another week just to be sure it was healed.

Leroy woke up soon and Rachel held his hand for hours, soothingly stroking his hand with her thumb. It frustrated her that this was all she could do for him. Soon he fell asleep again. When he dropped of Rachel sighed and cried silently in the chair, hugging her knees to her chest. Puck, who had been out talking with the nurse came in and saw her.

He walked over and kneeled in front of her and she watched him with dead eyes. He grabbed her tiny had, the uninjured one, and kissed it. Her lip quivered and he helped her up, completely enveloping her in his arms. They stood like that for about ten minutes, then Rachel's phone rang, she pulled out of Puck's embrace reluctantly and grabbed her phone.

"Hello," she said tiredly.

"Hi Rach," Quinn said, "How're you doing sweetie?"

"Been better," Rachel said with a sigh.

"I was wondering if you would like to sleepover at my house tonight?" Quinn asked gently, "I would understand if you want to stay with your dad though," she added quickly.

"Actually, I would love to Quinn. My dad won't be up until about eleven tomorrow, so that would be fun," Rachel said.

"Great. Do you need a ride here?" Quinn asked.

Puck who had been listening shook his head and pointed to himself.

"No, Puck can drop me off."

"Cool. I'll see you soon," Quinn said and hung up.

That night, both Quinn and her mother doted on Rachel. Rachel was happy for Quinn. It seemed that she and her mother had become much, much closer. Quinn and Rachel talked for hours. Topics flowed freely. Rachel couldn't really believe this. Here she was talking and laughing for hours with Quinn Fabray. She liked it.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh I luv Faberry friendship. If you're reading this Mr. Murphy, well, put it in your show. <strong>

**BTW the only way for me to make it to this fall when new eps come out is to write more FF, so its winwin for you and I.**

**BTW read my other fic, A New Direction**

**I neeed your suggestions so purty pleez give me some!**


	9. I Had to Leave

I Had To Leave

Rachel woke up the next morning. She looked for Quinn, who was already up. She tried to sit up. She felt back down as a sharp pain came from her ribs. She shouldn't be doing all of this stuff. She was trying not to show anybody how much pain she was in. Her dad was the one that needed their attention. She closed her eyes as tears ran down her cheeks. Dancing yesterday was not a smart decision. She had been so upset and that was how she worked off her anger.

She sighed and silently packed her stuff in her backpack. She left Quinn a note apologizing for leaving all of the sudden. She tip-toed up the stairs. Quinn and her mother were in the kitchen, talking. Rachel silently left, shutting the front door silently. She called a cab.

"Hospital," she told him. Five minutes later they pulled up. Rachel threw him a twenty, not stopping for change. She went as fast as her aching ribs would let her. She plopped down in the wooden chair, next to her sleeping father. Back to square one. She began to shake with anger, sadness and pain. Why her? What did she do?

She dug her fingernails into her uninjured wrist. All she wanted was to forget about her dad. She pressed harder and drew blood. She watched the blood run down her wrist. She cried silently, shaking. She pressed on her wrist again, the pain taking away from the heartbreaking truth that Daddy was going to die.

About ten minutes after Rachel left Quinn's house, Quinn went downstairs to check on Rachel. She wasn't there. Quinn ran over when she saw the note.

_Dear Quinn,_

_Sorry. I had to leave_

_Rachel_

Quinn whipped out her phone as fast as she could and called dialed a random speed dial, worried out of her mind not caring who picked up as long as somebody did.

"Hello?" Finn said

"Finn? It's Quinn. Sorry to bother you, but," Quinn started to cry, " Rachel's gone. She stayed the night and I don't know where she is! She left a note saying that she had to leave."

"Shhh, Quinn it's alright. Calm down. Call Puck and I'll go to the hospital, alright? That's probably where she went," Finn said soothingly, and she heard him running out to his car.

"Rachel! What are you doing?" Rachel heard and looked up. Finn. She sobbed, harder. He ran up and separated her hands with wide eyes. She let him, going limp.

"Rachel, don't do that. Your dad would not want you to do that!" Finn said anxiously.

"My dad's going to die, Finn!" she almost screamed. He walked over and grabbed a wad of paper towels from a nearby table. He gently pressed it to the inside of her wrist. Then Puck ran in.

"Shit," he said, loudly.

"I came in and she was doing this to herself," Finn said, not taking his eyes off of Rachel's red and tearstained face.

"Here, move over," Puck said, "Get Santana here," he added. He kneeled in front of Rachel.

"Shhhh, calm down baby" Puck said stroking her cheek. She took deep breaths to calm herself.

"I don't want him to die," she whimpered.

"I know." Puck wrapped her in his arms. Finn had just called Santana, who had been about three minutes away at the Lima Bean with Britney. They were on their way. Puck just held Rachel. Soon Santana and Britney ran in. Britney immediately burst into tears, seeing Rachel's wrist. Santana motioned for Finn to come comfort Britney. Then she moved to Rachel.

"Rach, you're okay alright," Santana whispered, rubbing Rachel's back.

Santana and Puck had a telepathic conversation. Santana nodded and Puck stood up, carrying Rachel out to his truck. Santana held Rachel while Puck drove. Once again they were taking Rachel home after an injury. Once again Puck put Rachel in her bed and kissed her gently. Santana walked in and put Neosporin and a Band-Aid on Rachel's wrist.

There was no way they were going to leave her alone after what had happened. They sat on her carpet, whispering.

"When did this happen?" Santana asked.

"Rachel stayed at Quinn's. She gave her the slip and took a cab to the hospital. She then started hurting herself," Puck told her.

"Oh my God," Santana said, head in her hands.

Then they heard the door downstairs being knocked on. Santana went to answer.

A woman with Rachel's dark hair in a pixie cut was standing on the doorstep.

"Hello?" the woman said with a smile. She was tiny, just like Rachel.

"Hi, I'm Santana Lopez and I think we have some things to catch up on," Santana said, stepping aside so Aunt Lisa could come in.

* * *

><p>"Oh my goodness," Aunt Lisa said, after Santana explained everything. Puck then walked in, having deemed Rachel was going to be asleep for a while.<p>

"Are you Noah Puckerman?" She asked.

Puck nodded and extended his hand. Aunt Lisa looked almost exactly like Rachel.

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Berry," Santana said, for both of them

"Please, that makes me sound old. Call me Lisa," Lisa said with a small smile.

"Lisa," Santana amended.

"Well, I'm going to settle in, then I am going to see Leroy, all right?" Lisa said. She gave them her number and asked them to call her when Rachel woke up. Santana and Puck agreed. They walked into the kitchen, both hungry and heated up some of the food that the girls had made yesterday. They ate in silence, both worried out of their minds for the sleeping girl upstairs and her dying father.

* * *

><p>Three hours later, Rachel woke up and shivered. She was in Puck's arms. Santana was sitting Indian style on the end of the bed.<p>

"Why?" Santana asked, her voice, wavering.

Rachel looked at Santana.

"Because, I wanted to forget about the fact that my dad might die tomorrow," Rachel said, silent tears falling.

"Rachel, do you not think that it would hurt all of us to see you hurt?" She asked. She knew that hit a nerve, Rachel didn't like people hurting.

Rachel nodded and a silent apology was sent to Santana, just through their eyes.

"Never do that again," Santana ordered. The doorbell rang and Santana went to get it. It was Finn.

"Can I talk to Rachel?" he asked. Something in his face made Santana nod. He had obviously thought long and hard about what he was about to say. With Finn, this was a very rare occasion. They went up and Santana beckoned Puck out and he complied.

Finn took a deep breath and looked into Rachel's tired eyes. She was wearing an oversize sweatshirt that ended just above her knee. Her hair was down and messy and she had dark circles under her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Finn said.

"For what?" Rachel asked, confused.

"For being a complete ass to you," Finn said. After a moment, Rachel nodded.

"I'm sorry to, I shouldn't have kissed Puck. But I'm with him now. I loved you Finn. But now I love Puck. I want us to be good friends though. Before Nationals, I was dealing with my dad. I put all other relationships aside. By doing that, I got over you," Rachel said. Finn nodded, seeing her complete honesty.

"I agree and I'm here for you whenever you need me," Finn said, squeezing her hand.

"Oh, Finn. Not that its any of my business but…" Rachel bit her lip.

Finn laughed, "You're Rachel Berry, that's never stopped you." She smiled weakly.

"I think Quinn still loves you. She doesn't really know how to tell you. She used to have a small town fantasy, but things have changed. Just so you know," Rachel said, winking lazily.

Finn looked down and smiled.

"Cool," he said.

"If you tell her I told your she'll kill me so don't. I should also mention that she said that her pride would allow her to take you back if you sang to her outside her bedroom window, after throwing pebbles and holding a big boom box over your head." She said, raising her eyebrow at Finn.

Finn nodded, kissed her forehead and walked out. Puck walked in and sat on the bed.

"What did Hudson want?" Puck asked.

"He wanted to sort some things out and I had to tell him that Quinn still liked him," she said, with a smile, then gave him a kiss on the corner of his mouth.

He backed up and tucked a string of hair behind her ear.

Her stomach growled, ruining the sweet moment and both of them laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>Tell me what u think!<strong>


	10. The Best Father

The Best Father

Rachel allowed Puck to carry her down to the kitchen. He sat her in a chair and busied himself getting her food. He sat down vegan lasagna, which was actually pretty good, in front of her. She asked for coffee and thanks to Santana's physic abilities, a fresh pot had just been made.

"How'd you get so addicted to coffee?" Puck asked as he set the cup down in front of her.

"Daddy actually started me on it. He's the same way; neither of us could function without it."

She took a gulp of the hot coffee and smiled as it warmed her insides.

"I can't believe you drink it black though. That's hardcore," Puck said, thinking of all the girls he knew who liked frou-frou drinks that had like a bazillion things in it.

She smiled and grabbed his hand with one hand, as she ate with the other.

Puck liked being with Rachel like this. Santana had gone home to shower, but was coming back. The house was empty and quiet. He watched Rachel. In her huge over size sweatshirt, she looked even tinier. He still thought she was beautiful.

"Why are you staring at me?" Rachel asked, taking a drink of coffee.

"Cause your beautiful," Puck said. She smiled. Then Aunt Lisa walked in.

Her whole face lit up when she saw Rachel. She ran over and gently wrapped her arms around Rachel, dropping little kisses all over Rachel's forehead, Rachel smiled and hugged her back, harder than she should have, but ignored the ache in her ribs. She missed her aunt.

"It's so great to see you, Lisa," said Rachel, who had also, at a young age, been instructed to call her aunt by her first name.

That whole afternoon, Rachel poured her heart out. She explained the last few months in more detail. When Puck and Santana got up to give them privacy, she shook her head and pulled them back down beside her. They had dinner and they all watched West Side Story. Puck felt bad for Tony. The dude fell in love, then practically a day later he dies. That sucked. Rachel had fallen asleep with her feet in Puck's lap and with her head on Lisa's shoulder.

Puck picked her up and took her upstairs to bed and Santana stayed in there with Rachel.

He walked down and found Aunt Lisa in the kitchen.

"I want to talk to you," Lisa said.

He nodded and sat down.

"Rachel trusts you. If you hurt her, you **will** regret it," she said, tiredly, though Puck fully believed it.

"I love Rachel so much and hate how much she's had to go through on her own. Hiram and I never got along well, so he always "forgot" to invite me to things. Leroy hated to have Hiram upset and agreed, though he didn't feel good about it, that I should go. So I moved to New York. Rachel and I only talked through email and text. I missed her. I don't like the situation at all, but I am responsible for Rachel. I need to know that you will help me to make sure that she doesn't hurt herself or do something stupid," she said.

"I will," Puck said.

"Good. I didn't want to upset her, but Leroy is getting very bad. He's not in any pain, they have him on tons of medication, but his systems are all shutting down, they don't think he'll last very long." Puck grabbed the woman's hand and squeezed it.

"I'm going to go to the hospital. Please stay here with Rachel and bring her to the hospital in the morning," Lisa said, grabbing her bag and giving Puck a nod, then left, worry etched on her face.

Rachel woke up the next morning between Santana and Puck. Puck had his arm around her. She sat up, waking Puck. He opened his eyes and saw she was awake. He smiled lazily and sat up, rubbing his eyes. She yawned and stretched. She looked at Puck with pleading eyes. He knew what she wanted. Coffee. He got up and went downstairs, Santana felt him get off the bed and opened her eyes.

She sat up and gave Rachel a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. Rachel walked into the bathroom, with Santana following. She brushed her teeth and Santana did also. They walked downstairs to find Puck, struggling to make the coffee machine work. Rachel laughed at his confused expression and started it, simply by pressing a button. Puck frowned.

Lisa walked through the front door. Her face had tears running down and she had circles under her eyes. Rachel's smile faded from her face.

"What is it?" she asked slowly and carefully.

"The doctor said that he was now totally dependent on the machines. They're going to take him off them. He's essentially dead," Lisa said in an equally dead voice.

Rachel didn't say anything; she stayed still, frozen in shock. She suddenly grabbed Puck's hand and Lisa's hand and ran out to the car, tears flowing. Puck got in the driver's seat and Rachel and Lisa were in the back. Rachel's head was buried in Lisa's shoulder and Lisa was rubbing Rachel's back.

They got to the hospital. The door to the room was closed. Rachel put her hand on the handle and paused, not knowing if she could take what was on the other side. She pressed down on the handle and slowly walked in. He was just laying there. Not hooked to any machines. He could be sleeping.

Rachel, tears silently falling, walked over and softly kissed his forehead. She turned and took Puck's hand with an iron grip. She was shaking. Puck wrapped her in his arms, not sure what else to do. He felt a tear fall down his own cheek for Leroy Berry, the best father he'd ever met.

Rachel couldn't understand. Her dad was gone, forever. She would never watch his face light up as she sang to him. He would never kiss her forehead and tell her everything was going to be all right. They could never sit up and talk for hours into the night. Rachel could never tell her Daddy that she loved him again.

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><p><strong>Review<strong>

**I'm about to cry… Nuff said**


	11. For Daddy

For Daddy

Puck was worried about Rachel. He had to all but force feed her to get her to eat. She was hollow. She didn't say anything. He felt hopeless and didn't know what to do. He held her and she cried. Then she would just sit, like she didn't know what to do with herself.

Lisa organized the funeral. Rachel wouldn't go to the visitation. Aunt Lisa had come home to bring her niece to the funeral. She took Rachel upstairs and helped her change into a flowy black dress with thin straps and ended at the knees and strappy heels. Rachel thought this was ridiculous and didn't want to go. Her dad was gone. Lisa finished and faced Rachel, looking her in the eyes.

"Will you sing?" She asked, putting a stray curl behind Rachel's ear. Rachel looked at her for a moment and then nodded.

Rachel was surrounded by the glee club as she walked in. Each gave her hugs. She just stood there as they wrapped their arms around her.

After sitting through long speeches about her father, Rachel felt her hand being squeezed by Puck, next to her. She walked up with him and he grabbed his guitar. She nodded at him and he began. She felt herself begin to tear up.

**I wish this could be  
>A happy song<br>But my happiness disappeared  
>The moment you were gone<br>Don't think I ever believed that  
>This day would come<br>Now all I'm feeling  
>Is lost and numb<strong>

She closed her eyes, tears falling freely

**And ohhh I know I promised  
>Mmmm that I would try<strong>

**But I, yes I, miss you**  
><strong>And it's killing inside<strong>

She opened her eyes, and to those watching, she seemed a million miles away, reliving moments with her father

**I'll always be thankful  
>For the time we had<br>We were blessed  
>I should celebrate<br>But I feel too sad  
>All the wonderful memories<br>Just make me fall apart  
>And it feels like somebody's<br>Stabbed me in my heart**

**And ohhh I know I promised**  
><strong>Mmmm that I wouldn't cry<strong>

**But I, yes I, miss you**  
><strong>And it's killing inside<strong>  
><strong>Ooh well I, yes I, miss you<strong>  
><strong>Want you by my side<strong>

**Walking, holding hands**  
><strong>Talking, making plans<strong>  
><strong>Touching my heart my soul<strong>

**I wish this could be**  
><strong>A happy song<strong>  
><strong>But my happiness disappeared<strong>  
><strong>The moment you were gone<strong>

She began shaking her head as if she was trying to convince herself

**Tell me it's not happening  
>Say it's not as it seems<br>Tell me that I'm gonna wake up  
>It's just a bad dream<br>Please tell me that it's fiction  
>Tell me it's just a lie<br>Whatever you choose to tell me  
>Please say he didn't die<br>**

She started crying harder. She was shaking with sobs but continued to sing.

**And I, yes I, miss you  
>And it's killing inside<br>Ooh well I, yes I, miss you  
>Want you by my side<br>Ooh well I, miss you  
>Want you by my side<br>Back here by my side  
>Here by my side<strong>

Puck took his guitar off and wrapped his arms around her.

"Can we get out of here?" She whispered. He looked at Aunt Lisa and she nodded. He led her out they got in his car and they went to the park across from the hospital. They sat on a park bench.

"What do I do, Puck?" She asked, looking at her hands in her lap.

"You live your life. You follow your dream and go be on Broadway. That's what your dad would want. He would want to see his baby go and become the star that he knew you were," Puck said gently, surprised at how easily the words flowed. She looked up at him and he wiped the tears off her cheeks.

"You're right," she said, nodding slowly. He put his arm around her and sat back. They sat there for a long time in the sunshine. Rachel closed her eyes and put her head on Puck's shoulder. She could get through this. For Daddy.

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><p><strong>Hmmm, I like this. Should I end it? Write a sequel? I'll write more if you want me to, but I'll need some new ideas…<strong>

**Pretty pleez review!**


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